Solar Mike
New Member
I need something to startup our solar powered water pumps in the mornings as the sun come out.
The magnetic drive pumps will be direct connected to a PV panel approx 50 - 180W and run continuously as long as the sun is shining, some run off 24v and others 12v dc; each voltage type has its own panel.
Problem is at low light levels the panel cannot supply the starting current to get them running and will sit for some time in a stalled state drawing current in one winding rather than being shared, so its not good for the pump.
There are a number of simple solutions out there on the net, using a comparator and a bank of electro's, the higher current devices are expensive and dont have any timing features, or the range of voltages, so its easier for me to just quickly throw something together and send off the gerbers along with a bunch of other boards.
Here is the schema for a simple design using a Picaxe 08M2 for pump control, will pickup any errors when the pcb is designed.
Cheers
Mike
The magnetic drive pumps will be direct connected to a PV panel approx 50 - 180W and run continuously as long as the sun is shining, some run off 24v and others 12v dc; each voltage type has its own panel.
Problem is at low light levels the panel cannot supply the starting current to get them running and will sit for some time in a stalled state drawing current in one winding rather than being shared, so its not good for the pump.
There are a number of simple solutions out there on the net, using a comparator and a bank of electro's, the higher current devices are expensive and dont have any timing features, or the range of voltages, so its easier for me to just quickly throw something together and send off the gerbers along with a bunch of other boards.
Here is the schema for a simple design using a Picaxe 08M2 for pump control, will pickup any errors when the pcb is designed.
Cheers
Mike